Tsukino-Con is back at UVic this year, and anime fans are no doubt hyped to attend another convention full of fun panels and unique art and merchandise from vendors, and to gather with like-minded people who share their passion.
Olivia Csiki is a UVic student and an avid cosplayer who began volunteering at Tsukino-Con—which is always hosted at UVic during reading break weekend—in 2017; she’s now the deputy of the event’s finance department. She began watching anime and reading manga as a kid, and her passion has only grown over the years. She also frequently cosplays and has loved making friends in the community.
“The convention is a great way for local cosplayers to get into the cosplay community and it’s a huge networking thing now,” says Csiki. “A lot of cosplayers at Tsukino-Con are really great at explaining their cosplays too, lots of passion. I’ve never had a bad experience interacting with anyone at Tsukino-Con doing cosplay.”
Csiki says that the convention has changed a lot since the pandemic, since Tsukino-Con didn’t run between 2020 and 2023.
“The con is still a little bit recovering from COVID, but it’s at a point where the numbers are similar to how they were a little bit before COVID, like before our bigger numbers, so it’s building up,” she says. “It’s recovering.”
The organizers of Tsukino-Con have been trying to run smaller events as well, such as the one-day Tsukino Matsuri that took place in August 2025.
“We are trying to implement more community events, so we’re trying to hold things for the con so people who attend the con can interact more with things they might not have originally,” says Csiki. “[Trying to] put more events in place for stuff like that.”
Smaller anime conventions like Tsukino-Con don’t get as much attention as larger ones like Anime Revolution or Fan Expo, but Csiki argues that there’s just as much fun to be had at a local convention.
“It’s a very different experience to come to a convention that’s smaller,” says Csiki. “You get a lot more time to interact with people and voice actors that come. You get a feel for the people that are actually in your community who like the same things you do, which is one of the things that I’ve really liked about Tsukino-Con. A lot of the people that I meet at Tsukino-Con I can meet outside of the con as well, because a lot of the people are very local, so it’s a great way to make friends and learn about what’s in your community as well.”
Tsukino-Con—which offers student discounts for single-day or full-weekend passes—includes different events to attend and things to explore in between panels.
“A lot of local artists come to sell their work, which is a huge incentive [for guests to attend]. There’s going to be the cosplay contest and the swimsuit contest. There’s usually some gaming stuff that goes on. We are planning to have a small array of guests coming. Some voice actors, and some tubers as well hopefully,” says Csiki. “Learning about the anime community, coming in and having fun, meeting new people—those are some of the reasons that I recommend people come to a small con in general.”
Csiki says that she and the rest of the organizers have put a lot of hard work into making sure everyone has a great time at the convention this year.
“I’m very excited for this year’s con and I really hope a lot of people also enjoy [the] con this year as well,” says Csiki.
Tsukino-Con
Friday, February 20 to Sunday, February 22
UVic
tsukinocon.com